


[fic] Post-Game Analysis

by alwaystheocean



Category: Critical Role (Web Series) RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-01-26 13:01:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21374563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alwaystheocean/pseuds/alwaystheocean
Summary: Marisha and Laura vent some frustrations after episode 79.
Relationships: Laura Bailey/Marisha Ray
Comments: 3
Kudos: 32
Collections: Femslash Exchange 2019





	[fic] Post-Game Analysis

**Author's Note:**

  * For [walkthegale](https://archiveofourown.org/users/walkthegale/gifts).

Marisha’s always full of nervous energy after a game even at the best of times, and tonight? Had not been the best of times. They’d stayed at the table long after the cameras turned off, going round and round in circles, picking every move and dice roll to pieces. She’d also taken her pencil to pieces. Well. More pieces. She’d even posted photos of the pieces on twitter, trying to jump-start the levity she’s sure is coming, at some point in the next week. Still. That was in the future, and none of it had particularly helped her down from the ceiling, so now she needs to blow off some steam.

Which is how she finds herself stalking aimlessly round the studio while Matt carefully packs away his unused maps, something he still likes to do himself, even though Max or Dani or literally anyone else would be happy to help him out. They all have their post-game rituals. Matt’s is cataloguing. Hers is stalking.

This soon after the show, it’s not surprising there are still other people around - take-down always takes a while. There are any number of things she could be helping with, come to that - it’s not as if there’s ever nothing to do around here - but she’s too unfocused for that.

What _is_ surprising is seeing someone on the Talks set. Just sitting around, doing nothing, in the dark by themselves. What’s even more surprising is that it’s Laura. She and Travis are usually out the door pretty fast on a Thursday night these days. But here she is, slumped on the sofa, staring at the ceiling. OK, maybe that part is maybe less surprising after her reaction to where they’ve left things in-game.

“Hey! You ok? What are you even still doing here?”

Laura jerks up, almost guiltily. “Uh, hey! Travis had a couple of things he wanted to check on. We came in his car today, and I just couldn’t settle to anything while I waited. Which feels like a waste of time, but...” She shrugs. 

“Oh, well, sure. Samesies, actually. But...are you ok though?”

Laura shrugs, raking her hands through her hair. Then she snorts, shakes her head, and rolls her eyes.

“Hah. Snap.” Marisha flops down on the sofa next to Laura.

“Right? Like I’m sure by next week I’ll be over it and excited for what happens next but right now I’m just _so-…_!” Laura tails off in a wordless huff of feelings.

Marisha chuckles before she has a chance to stop herself. It’s hypocritical, given how frustrated she feels too, but she can’t help it, Laura’s game frustrations are almost always too cute.

Laura snorts again, cracking an answering grin that turns into an answering laugh. It’s not even that funny, in fact, it’s probably mostly hysteria, but all the same, however it happens, Marisha will never get tired of being able to make Laura laugh. It helps, too. She sighs out the last of her laughter, and it feels like some of the tension’s gone out of her with it. From the looks of things, the same is true for Laura. She’s still flopped bonelessly on the sofa, but she looks less…morose.

“I don’t care what Tal and Travis say, this was not a win.”

“Right? I swear I haven’t rolled anything above a 5 in weeks. I feel like Matt’s ganked all the good rolls lately.”

“God, that’s so true. Even Taliesin can’t roll for shit right now. Not that that’s that weird this campaign.” Laura sighs, back to looking dejected. 

Right. Enough of this. Maybe you can’t jump-start your feelings but you sure can hurry them along a bit. Besides, this isn’t any way to end a game night and she’s damned if she’ll let Laura go home sad if she can help it. 

“Hey.” She leans over to elbow Laura gently in the ribs. “I know we joke about dice gods and stuff, and sometimes I’m honestly not sure how much you actually believe it, or whether I do, but maybe it’s like karma, you know? Maybe we have to do the shitty bit first and there’s something amazing coming to make up for it." This time, it's Marisha who snorts. "Then again, maybe I’m full of shit.”

“Look at you, all zen monk shit.” Laura nudges her back, their elbows jostling comfortably. “Beau would be so proud.”

“Nah, Beau _definitely_ doesn’t believe in dice gods. Or being zen, for that matter.”

Laura laughs again, and another tiny thrill goes through Marisha. Nope, never getting even a tiny bit old. Again though, it doesn’t last long, and this time Marisha just waits. She’s aware she’s not necessarily Laura’s first port of call for post-game comfort and analysis, but she still knows her well enough to see she’s got something gnawing at her.

“I just can’t shake off that sense of getting it wrong, though, you know? Like there was a right way to do it if we’d just thought of it. And it’s not like you can reload a save of your D&D game!”

“Hey, hey.” Marisha extends one arm, offering Laura a hug if she wants it. She’s seen Laura talk easily about this kind of thing - getting it _right_ \- before, on Talks, at panels, but that’s always after the fact, sharing after you’ve done your processing. She hasn’t seen her work through it before. A very small part of her is doing the smallest of dances about it. Not over the fact Laura’s having a hard time, but that she’s talking to Marisha about it. That part’s new. She hopes that part stays.

“Wouldn’t that be amazing though? 'Hey Matt, can we just go back to when we arrived in this wood and have a do-over?'”

Laura lets out a startled bark of a laugh, then leans in, settling herself against Marisha’s side. "That _would_ be kind of amazing." 

Marisha squeezes her shoulder and rests her cheek on the top of Laura’s head, taking a moment to admire and enjoy the feel of her shiny, shiny hair.

“You know that’s not how it works though,” she continues after a moment’s silence. “I _don’t_ care what Travis and Taliesin say, this was definitely a loss-”

“The big nope,” interjects Laura.

“-and I’m frustrated as hell about it,” Marisha continues again, “but you know, shit happens. We’ll figure something else out next week.”

“Week after.”

“Right. Fuck. Sorry, this cheering up shit is hard when I’m kind of right there with you.”

Laura laughs again, this time it’s a slightly pained sound. “Honestly, this _is_ kind of helping? I think I’d punch Travis if he tried to cheer me up right now. At least you get where I’m coming from.”

“Man, too bad Liam’s not here, I feel like he was definitely on team ‘this fucking SUCKED.’” 

Laura tips her head up to face her, and Marisha doesn’t know whether it’s just the weird angle, or something else, but there’s something in Laura’s expression that she can’t quite interpret.

“Oh, I don’t know. I’m kind of glad this is just us,” she says, and Marisha swears she can hear a little bit of Vex flirting in there. But like, Laura flirts with everyone, all the time, including Marisha, and while she’d definitely be lying if she said she hadn’t thought about calling her bluff on it just to see what happens, that hadn’t been the first thing on her mind tonight.

“Yeah?” It’s lame, as responses go, but she’s trying to play for time while she figures this out. Their faces are awfully close all of a sudden, which is weird considering neither of them has moved that much. 

Before she has time to ponder the situation further, Laura’s surged up to close the gap between them, pressing her lips lightly to Marisha’s. She pulls back almost immediately, a questioning, almost shy look on her face. Giving up on words for the moment, this time it’s Marisha who’s leaning down to kiss Laura back and, you know what, actually, as ways to blow off steam and put the game behind them go, this one is kind of awesome. Laura’s response is gratifying and immediate, and before Marisha’s finished working out how they got there, Laura is half in Marisha’s lap, fingers running through her hair. Marisha would be lying if she said she'd never thought about kissing Laura before, but the reality is even better than she could've imagined. Without breaking the kiss, Marisha twists round, puts both hands around Laura’s waist and half-lifts, half pulls her into her lap. Laura quickly adjusts to her new position, legs straddled either side of Marisha’s lap. The new position changes the angle of the kiss slightly, Marisha’s now tilting her chin up, throat exposed.

They could keep doing this for a while but sadly between her exertions and the kissing, breathing is a thing, so she breaks away. Laura lets out the tiniest whine but backs off too, sitting back on her heels and watching Marisha intently.

“So, uh,” Marisha says, letting her not-so-inner Beau do the talking for her. “Wanna take this somewhere a bit more private?”

Laura arches an eyebrow, shooting her a look that’s pure Vex. “I’d love to. Your place or mine, darling?”


End file.
